Smoked cream cheese is the bomb, and it’s great on a cracker! Try it once, and we have no doubt that you will be hooked. You can adapt this idea for and use it with your favorite pinwheel recipe by smoking blocks of cream cheese and using them to transform your old recipe into something new and more flavorful.
YIELD: 4 WRAPS WITH 14–16 SLICES EACH • COOK TIME: 40 MINUTES
Fruit wood, for smoking
2 (8-oz [227-g]) packages cream cheese
3–4 slices bacon 1 sweet onion Olive oil
2–3 jalapeño peppers
Salt and pepper, to taste
4 of your favorite wraps, like sun-dried tomato wraps
A couple dashes of chipotle sauce, optional
Scallions and/or your favorite barbecue sauce, optional
Configure your grill for two-zone cooking and heat to 300°F (149°C).
Smoke the cream cheese using a couple of chunks of fruit wood, such as apple or peach. Starting with cold cream cheese right out of the refrigerator, place the cream cheese in a half pan. Take another half pan and fill it halfway with ice. Insert the pan containing the cream cheese on top of the pan containing the ice. Place this on the indirect side of the grill and smoke for 20 to 30 minutes. Flip the cream cheese every few minutes to get smoke on all sides of the blocks. The color of the cream cheese should darken during the smoking process.
Place the bacon into a cast-iron pan. Cook over direct heat until the bacon darkens in color and begins to curl, about 5 minutes per side.
Cut the onion into slices and drizzle with olive oil. Briefly place these on the grill over direct heat, just to char. Core and halve the jalapeños. Grill the jalapeños over direct heat until softened, about 1 to 2 minutes per side.
Remove the bacon from the pan. Chop up the grilled onion and jalapeños, and place in a cast-iron pan. Cook until the onion softens. Remove from the grill and add the chopped bacon. Mix the cooked ingredients with the smoked cream cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let it set and remix several times to get the flavors blended throughout the cream cheese.
Smear the cheese onto the wraps, and then roll them up like burritos. Place the rolled wraps on a plate. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate. For best results, let them sit overnight in the fridge.
Remove the plate from the fridge and cut the wraps into ½-inch (1.3-cm) pinwheel segments. Insert a toothpick into each segment to hold it together. The remaining ends that you don’t serve are what we call the chef’s snacks. Serve with chipotle sauce and scallions or barbecue sauce.